Plastic coated fabrics are typically employed in a wide variety of uses, such as, but not limited to, fabric covering for furniture, and more particularly, for covering foam articles, such as seat and back cushions. A particular application of plastic coated fabrics comprises the use of a vinyl coated fabric on a woven or knot polyester or polyester/cotton fabric for use as a upholstery fabric on the foam cushions used in a school bus. Such a vinyl coated fabric must be designed to meet Federal flammability requirements, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 302. This Federal regulation is not a severe test and comprises a horizontal type flame test. In addition, there is a vertical type burn test, Federal Test Method (FTM) 5903, which is more stringent than the FMVSS-302 test.
Another test of a more rigorous nature has been developed which is known as the School Bus Seat Upholstery (SBSU) Fire Block Test, 1990 National Standards for School Buses and Operations, pages 29-31 (enclosed). In order to pass this test, the flame must be prevented from penetrating through the upholstery fabric and igniting the urethane foam cushion used in the school buses. This test has shown that the standard school bus upholstery fabric does not prevent a flame from penetrating the fabric and igniting the urethane foam cushion employed in upholstery. The flame initiated via the SBSU Fire Block Test burns through the standard upholstery fabric and propagates until the entire bus is engulfed in flames and smoke. There are other constructions of upholstery fabric desgined to provide a flame barrier and pass this test. However, these fabrics tend to be very stiff and exhibit low elongation, thus making it very difficult to tailor a seat. Also, the standard seat upholstery fabric employed has only fair puncture resistance, thus reducing the life and durability in the field of the foam cushions covered with the upholstery fabric. School bus upholstery is subject to extreme, rugged wear and vandalism.
It is therefore desirable to provide a new and improved flame- and puncture-resistant composite fabric sheet material that provides superior tailorability and which will be particularly suitable for use as a surface covering, that is, an upholstery covering, particularly for foam type cushions, such as used in a school bus, and which composite fabric sheet material meet and exceeds the Federal flammability standards and the standards of the SBSU Fire Block Test.